Suffolk Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

The information on this page is designed to keep solicitors and licensed conveyancers abreast of latest requirements changes by Suffolk Building Society and to assist in remaining on the Suffolk Building Society Conveyancing Panel.

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How does my firm apply to be on the Suffolk Building Society Conveyancing Panel?

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Suffolk Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information:

What are the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel criteria?

Unlike the CML the Building Society Mortgage Instructions deal with this. Section A.12 states ‘In order to act on our behalf your firm or company must be a member of our conveyancing panel provided we are a society that operates one – see specific requirements for details of our arrangements. The Special Requirements state:

The Society operates a Conveyancing Panel and in order for Firms to act for the Society you must be appointed to this panel. To be appointed to the panel you should apply at:-
www.lms.com/lenderpanels

You must also comply with the terms and conditions of your Suffolk Building Society solicitor panel appointment.

Are Suffolk Building Society Conveyancing panel solicitors at risk of the society altering or retracting the loan offer?

Suffolk Building Society addresses this at section B.3 of their BSA Mortgage Instructions which states:

The Society will consider the value of the cashback or incentive against the proposed loan to value in order to make a decision whether to amend or withdraw the Mortgage Offer

Will the fact that my firm has signed up to Alerts via this site help in my application to join the Suffolk Building Society solicitor panel?

The requirements to join the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

I am hearing that agents are using online checkers to see if a firm is on a lender panel. Why?

Many estate agents will be suffering if their clients start out on the conveyancing process using a conveyancer who is not on the panel with the purchaser’s chosen lender. Many conveyancing firms are only discovering when they begin working on a case that they are no longer able to work with that lender. Given the inevitable resultant delays in the transaction the chances of an abortive deal increases dramatically. in the circumstances there is understandable anguish on the part of the estate agent as a result of the lost time should the client have to change solicitors lawyers.

A long standing client of my firm is looking to acquire a semi detached house for £835,250 in Brighton with a mortgage over GBP 525k. I am on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel but do Suffolk Building Society have a separate approved panel when a mortgage is above 350k?

We only know of a couple of banks that operate a separate approved solicitors panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain amount. You should nevertheless check directly with Suffolk Building Society. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with Suffolk Building Society

Are there conditions,outside the BSA Mortgage Instructions, that a firm should be aware of when on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel?

In order to be on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel solicitors have to complete an application form and agree Terms and Conditions. A sample of 5 conditions that we see amongst many lenders Terms (but not necessarily Suffolk Building Society) are as follows:

To quote on all communications with us relating to registration issues, whether by telephone or in writing, the panel number that we provide for each practising address and the mortgage account or application number for the mortgage concerned.
If you are a sole practitioner, to arrange for appropriate locum cover from our panel where necessary. Your locum must be a member of the Conveyancing panel.
To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds.)
That any deeds you borrow from us in connection with the personal mortgage of a partner or director at your firm must be requested by a partner or director other than the partner or director concerned and the transaction must be handled by that other partner or director. If you are a sole practitioner and require the loan of deeds in connection with your own mortgage, you must nominate a different firm on our panel to request the deeds and handle the transaction.
To forward the title deeds and documents to another solicitor within 24 hours of an instruction from us requiring you to do so. On forwarding the deeds as instructed you will confirm to us that you have done so. Upon receipt of your confirmation, we will release you from all undertakings relating to your holding the title deeds.

Are figures published regarding the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel size and the number of conveyancing firms removed from their panel each quarter?

With lenders and property lawyers working so closely together it is surprising that there has not been greater demand for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel but for all lender panel listings

What lender panels do you receive the most questions about?

BSA lenders do not come within the top 20 lenders in terms of frequency of questions. The most popular lender panels in terms of questions are as follows:

Find a Lawyer on the Suffolk Building Society Conveyancing Panel

Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Suffolk Building Society

This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.

Year	Days*
2025	[no data]
2024	[no data]
2023	[no data]
2022	[no data]
2021	[no data]
2020	[no data]

* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor

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